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lASSIST

QUARTERLY

The IASSIST QUARTERLY represents an international
cooperative effort on the part of indi\ iduals managing, operating,
or using machme-readable data archives, data hbraries. and data
services. The QUARTERLY reports on activities related to the
production, acquisition, preservation, processing, distnbution.
and use of machine-readable data carried out by its members and
others in the international social science coinmunity. ^'our
contributions and suggestions for topics of interest are welcomed.
The views set forth by authors of articles contained in this
publication are not necessarily those of lASSIST.

Information for Authors:

The QU.ARTERLY is published four times per \ ear. .Authors are
encouraged to submit papers a.s word processing tiles. Hard copy
submissions may be required in some instances. Word processing
files ma\' be sent via email tojtstratford@ucdavis.edu.
Manuscnpts should be sent to Editor: Juri Stratford. Government
Information and Maps Department, Shields Librarv. Universirv of
California. 100 North West Quad. Davis, Cahfomi'a 95616-5292.
Phone:(530)752-1624.

The first page should contain the article title, author's name,
affiliation, address to which correspondence mav be sent, and
telephone number. Footnotes and bibUographic citations should
be consistent in style, preferably following a standard authority
such as the University of Chicago press Manual of Style or Kate
L. Turabian's Mainud for Writers. Wliere appropnate. machine-
readable data files should be cited with bibliographic citations
consistent in style v\ ith Dodd. Sue \. "Bibhographic references
for numeric social science data files: suggested guidelines".
Journal oj the American Society for Infonnation Science
J0i2):77-82. March 1979. Announcements of conferences,
training sessions, or the Uke, are welcomed and should include a
mailing address and a telephone number for the director of the
event or for the organization sponsonng the ev ent.

Editors

Karsten Boye Rasmussen,

Department of Organization
and Management,
University of Southern
Denmark, SDU-OU,
Campusvej 55, DK-5230
Odense M, Denmark
Phone: -HtS 6550 21 15
Email :kbr@sam.sdu.dk

WiUiam Block.

Minnesota Population Center.

UniversiP.' of Minnesota.

5.^7 Heller Hall

271 19th .Avenue South.

Minneapolis. MN 55455.

Phone:612-624-7091

Email :block@soc sci.umn.edu

Juri Stratford

Government Information and
Maps Department.
ShieldsLibrary,
University of California.
100 North WestQuad,
Davis, California 95616-5292
Phone:(530)752-1624.
Email :iLstra tford@ucdavis.edu

Walter Piovesan

Maps/Dala/GIS Library'.
Simon Fraser University,
Bumabv. B.C
Canada V5A 1S6.
Phone: (6041 291-.5869.
Email:vvalter@sfuxa

Title: Newsletter - International Association for Social
Science Information Service and Technology

ISSN -United States: 0739-1 137 ©2000 by lASSIST. All
rights reserved.

CONTENTS

Volume 24 Number 3 Fall 2000

FEATURES

University Information System RUSSIA:
Scientific and Social Challenge

Tanana Yiidiiia

The Social Science Electronic Data Library:
Serving the Needs of Data Librarians and
Users

Mirhnpl Carhy A. .In<;pfuin ./. Cnrii

Accessing Indian Numeric and Statistical
Data: a critical study of the Suprastructure
and Infrastructure in India

.lapar Sin^h Ji: H. P. .S. Knlrn

University Information System RUSSIA:
Scientific and Social Challenge

An appropriate information base is the

main challenge for research and education

in social and human sciences in Russia,

especially in distant areas. Due to an

information shortage, the general level of

teaching and applied investigations is

decreasing - university professors are

unable to recommend as obligatory for ^g^^gi^^BI

study recently published books and

periodicals: funding for book purchases is poor. As the

Ministry of Science of RF (the Russian Federation) recently

reported, only 67 scientific journals are available for 10.000

investigators in Russia (408 - in Great Britain, 186 - in the

USA). Official government documents and reports, state

statistics are also not available for educators and

investigators. Due to the lack of public domain state

statistics, the new research methods based on processing of

large sets of numerical data are not developed in Russia. In

the current situation. Internet-based collective resource is

not only the most rational but the only possible approach to

arrange the information supply and build the research base

for investigations and advanced education in Russia.

The Moscow State University (MSU) Research Computing
Center and non-commercial organization Center for
Information Research since 1W4 have been working to
meet the challenge and develop the University Information
System RUSSIa'(UIS RUSSIA). In January '2000 the UIS
RUSSIA (www.cir.ru) started operating on regular basis as
a collective information base providing free access to all
Ru-ssian universities. Dunng 2000-2002 the UIS RUSSIA
will compose an appropriate resource base for full-scale
investigations in main human and social sciences. The
Internet access ensures equal opportunities to researchers
and educators in all regions of Russia. The universities of
the former Soviet Union ( FSU ) countries are also granted
free access.

In 2001 the UIS RUSSIA is planned to be available to local
public libraries in Russia and FSU countries.

The current version of the UIS RUSSIA includes the data
and documents" sources recommended as the first priority
collections by the Center for Sociological Research and
Economic Faculty of Moscow State University;

• official data and documents (laws, presidential

b\ Tcmana Yiidina '

~ decrees and directives, governmental
enactments, acts and regulations)
since 1991;

• stenogramms (daily records) of
State Duma of Federal Assembly of
RFfrom 1996;

• Goscomstat of RF data ( all
^gg^^^gp^ available in electronic format);

• election statistics of both federal
and local levels since 1993, provided by Central
Election Commission of RF;

• mass media sources (8 newspapers and 2
information agencies);

• databases, publications and reports of leading
analytical centers;

• reference data on the Russian political system
(brief history, prerogatives, structure and
personnel of federal institutions, pohtical parties,
churches, etc.);

• e.xtended reference information on the
components of the Russian Federation.

All data collections are obtained for free from official
holders/producers under legal agreements with Research
Computing Center of MSU. The provision to process the
information, integrate the results into the UIS RUSSIA and
provide access to all universities of RF makes the UIS
RUSSIA a valuable resource for full-scale socially relevant
investigations.

Information update

Full text documents - official data and documents,
stenogramms, mass media electronic versions are received
electronically on daily basis, bulletins and analytical reports
- on weekly or monthly basis (upon publication).

New full text collections will be added in 2000 :

• international agreements, signed by RF since
1991. international agreements signed by USSR,

• Constitutional Court of RF, Supreme Court of
RF, Arbitrary Court of FR, decisions,

• Commonwealth of Independent States countries
multilateral and bilateral agreements.

• local mass media sources.

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

All the documents are automatically processed - metadata
created, classified, indexed, annotated and integrated into
the UIS RUSSIA. The NLP technology provid'es for 20
Mb (equivalent of up to 10,000 pages) processed daily.

Appropriate retrospective coverage of each source will be
realized during 2000.

Statistical data - Numeric data are the mostly used resource
for social research. State statistics are the basis for
socially-relevant investigations and sound
recommendations for decision-makers. The UIS RUSSIA
legally obtains, stores and updates collections from State
Statistical Committee of RF. Under discussion are
agreements with other main statistics-producing
government institutions.

The Goscomstat of RF collections are received upon
publication - on monthly, quarterly or annually basis.
Statistical data are received in .doc format (digital versions
of publication). To make the data available for Internet
search, the UIS RUSSIA speciahsts convert the data into
HTML format; and as a ne.xt step - into Excel spreadsheet
format to make the data usable for secondary analysis.
Currentlv available are the following data collections :

Russian Annual Statistical Report, 1999,

Industry of Russia in 1999,

Regions of Russia in 1999.

National Accounts of RF, 1 99 1 - 1 999,

Environment Protection in Russia in 1999,

Finance in Russia in 1999,

Prices in Russia in 1999.

Russia and Commonwealth of Independent
States Countries in 1999,
• Russian Annual Demographic Report. 1999.

The data collections are also indexed to make them
searchable using the UIS RUSSIA Thesaurus.

In 2000. all other Goskomstat of RF collections will be
added. For 2000-2001. there are also plans to obtain and
integrate the data maintained b\ the Centrobank of RF. the
Ministry of Finance of RF, Goscomimyushestvo of RF, the
Ministry of Labor of RF. other ministries, committees and
agencies of RF, regional statistics of components of RF,
international organizations measurements, and the
databases created under the foreign grants. The numeric
data collections are complemented by methodological
notes.

Part of the Statistics of RF bloc are analytical reports
prepared by leading "think tanks" in Russia - Russian-
European Center for Economic Policy. Bureau of
Economic Analysis. Fond for Population Sentiments Index
research, etc. Reports of main Russian and foreign
foundations' erantees are included.

The documents are also indexed to make the analytical
materials retrievable by Thesaurus-based cross-search.

Electoral statistics are received shortly after elections. The
current \ersion stores all general elections results since
1993, and local election results. The data are converted
into Excel spreadsheet format and may be analyzed using
standard software packages like Statistika, SPSS, SAS. etc.
Electoral statistics is region-tailored and displayed in a map
format.

NLP technology

To process and integrate large scope of electronic
documents the technology of Automatic Linguistic Text
Processing ( ALTP) is realized under the project.

The ALTP performs:

- processing of electronic text corpora in main
formats (ASCII, HTML, MS Word) in Windows
and operating as DLL;

- morphological analysis of Russian texts;

- terms" recognition/disambiguation;

- thematic analysis - event categorization,
indexing, annotation/summarization;

- download of results on Oracle database server.

The main instrument of the technology is the Thesaurus on
Contempora?y Russia (ThesauntsK created under the UIS
RUSSIA project. In its current version it incorporates
18,500 concepts/descriptors, includes 6,500 geographic
names, 39,000 synonyms, 70,000 relations between
concepts, 200,000 inherited relations. The tool assists in
detecting of main and subordinate topics in a document as a
result of analysis of macroconcepts and relations between
them. Macroconcepts are modeled by groups of concepts
semantically related in Thesaurus. Thematic representation
provides for evaluation of weigh of each term in a text and
performs e\ent categorization and annotating/
summarization of a document. The Thesaurus enables to
determine up to 90 - 95 "c of tenns.

The technology provides for up to 20 Mb of electronic texts
to be processed on each Pentium200 PC and integrated into
the University Information System RUSSIA daily.

The technology was evaluated by experts from NIST and
DARPA in 1996 under the TextRetrievalConference-6
program and SummanzationConference in 1997. The
results are among the best in a group of 14 participants.

The ALPT ensures advanced search instruments.

Search engine

Being initially designed to serve scientific needs the UIS
RUSSIA provides for advanced search instruments: in

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

addition to traditional tools it includes value-added
elements - the System of Subject Headings and Thesaurus
on Contemporary Life in Russia. The System of Subject
Headings consists of 200 topics (rubriks). All full text
sources are filtered and event categorized according to
System of Subject Headings. The Congressional Research
Service, LC Legislative Indexing Vocabulary-based search
is also available.

The UIS RUSSIA provides for research assistance, user
services, metadata and annotation browsing, and thesaurus
based query refinement. User-tailored automatic
information update is reahzed.

Technical base: Architecture

The UIS RUSSIA operates at the Research Computing
Center of MSU server. Mirror sites will be maintained in
Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg to ensure more reliable
access for universities in the Northern part of RF, Siberia
and Far East.

Analytical bloc

Educational activity in advanced research methods has
been started. Main research institutions were contacted and
several software programs. Workbench of Sociologist,
Workbench of Economist, etc., are presented by the
authors. Special training class is arranged by the Research
Computing Center of MSU. where the analytical software
is downloaded and made available for university faculty.
Special course is scheduled, it includes lectures analyzing
main approaches to computer-based investigations and
demonstration of working models, teaching and training in
basic and advanced technique of social quantitative
analysis. The main idea is to make available for
investigators and educators the sound projects, to store the
research results costly in both financial and human terms
and to preserve them for future use. Consultations of
authors of the software will be available for the faculty
ready to use the programs in educational courses and
investigations. Socially-relevant projects using the UIS
RUSSIA stuff will be initiated. Not only MSU faculty is
informed and invited but other universities of Moscow and
regional universities.

Bilingual search instruments

The UIS RUSSIA has been initially designed as part of the
international information structure to serve not only
Russian researchers but also foreign specialists on Russia
and general public. To meet the challenge, a special
complex of the bilingual seaiching tools is being
developed. The prototype of the bilingual complex is ready
for testing and evaluation by a team of Russian American
specialists. Funding to evaluate the bilingual search tools is
currently being sought.

The NLP technology and developed bilingual complex will
produce an annotation in English on each Russian

document. This accomphshment widens the UIS RUSSIA
audience, helping foreign public to open Russia and foreign
specialists to investigate Russia.

Work is underway on the Global Information Service
(GlLS)-profile to provide for the UIS RUSSIA integration
into the world information space assisting Russian
specialists in international cooperation in economic, social,
political, human research.

Russian universities network

The UIS RUSSIA has been designed as a base for inter-
university cooperation in consorted and rational efforts to
build a networked collective information infrastructure.
The regional universities may actively participate.
Currently up to 50 local universities are technically and
technologically equipped to take part in the cooperation.
The Open Society Institute (Soros Fund)-funded "Russian
Universities" Internet Centers" program provided the
regional universities with the hardware-software platform
compatible with that of the UIS RUSSIA. The NLP
technology developed under the UIS RUSSIA project may
be passed on for free to the regional universities to enable
them to develop information systems of their own on local
resources, integrated into the UIS RUSSIA. The local stuff
is important to make the social analysis relevant.

In this respect the UIS RUSSIA is close to the American
universities" Intemet2 initiative directed to rationally build
Internet-based far-reaching educational and research
network.

From the verv' beginning the UIS RUSSIA project was
developed in cooperation with the Michigan Inter-
university Consortium for PoUtical and Social Research
and European Consortium for Social Research. Specialists
of both structures visited Russia and have been of help to
the Russian researchers.

Program to become self-supportive

Maintenance of the system on self-supporting basis is a
challenge of the project. The experiences of information
structures in the USA. Europe and other countries" have
been analyzed, and main elements of financial activity of
those organizations w ill be realized - institutional
membership with annual dues for foreign universities and
other organizations. Prehminary discussions with
American and European colleagues - university professors,
think tank specialists, government analysts, journalists
prove that this way is the most acceptable for them as well.
The dues will create a relatively stable and predictable
financial base and allow the program to engage in long-
range policy to develop the information resource and
provide access for free to the high education institutions in
Russia.

{ASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

The team

The UIS RUSSIA project began 1994. The key speciaUsts
have worked together since that time. The team includes
20 speciaUsts from the Research Computing Center, other
faculties of Moscow State University, academic
institutions and other universities of Moscow. Several
speciaUsts are invited for half-time job and consultations.
A group of American consultants provide their expertise of
the project on the permanent basis.

Since 1994 the project has been supported by grants from
Russian Fund for Basic Research. Russian Humanitarian
Scientific Fund, Ministry of Science and Technologies of
RF "Informatization of Russia" program, MacArthur
Foundation, USA. Ford Foundation, USA.

* Tatyana Yudina, Ph.D., Leading researcher of Moscow
State University Research Computing Center. Director of
University Information System RUSSIA project.
vudina@mail.cir.ru

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

The Social Science Electronic Data Library:
Serving the Needs of Data Librarians and

Users

The last decade has witnessed enormous
strides in two areas; first, the
development of numerous social science
data sets of high quahty. and, second, the
development of the computing hardware
and software capabiUty and infrastructure
needed to locate and analyze these data
sets for minimal cost and to communicate ^B^^^^^Hi
data findings in interesting and easy-to-
understand fashion. Hand in hand with these advances in
data development have come technological ad\ ances which
allow social science research and teaching laboratories,
with the hardware and software needed to analyze the best
data in a given field, to be set up with ease by an academic
department or even by an individual professor.
Additionally, sophisticated data analysis software packages
formerly available only for mainframe computers have
become available for microcomputers at a much reduced
cost. Taken together, these developments make it possible
for academic departments, research institutes, and
government offices of all sizes and levels of financial
resources to access and analyze exemplary data sets for
research, teaching, and program- and policy-development
purposes.

Data archives, in both the private and public sectors, allow-
easy and open access to many hundreds of the best health
and social science data sets covering a broad range of
topics, study populations, and making use of a variety of
research designs. The data available from many of these
archives are clean and the documentation user-friendly. For
these and other reasons, researchers and instructors who are
considering the use of secondary data welcome the
functions served by a well designed data archive. This data
is used to:

• conduct secondary analyses of outstanding data
sets to serve the needs of policy, practice, or basic
research:

• perform meta analyses based on access to
multiple original raw data sets:

• prepare research proposals on various issues;

• write publications comparing and contrasting
results from related data sets;

• prepare masters theses and doctoral
dissertations;

• produce classroom materials for teaching

by Michael Caiiey &. Joscfina J.
Card *

substantive, methodological, and
statistical concepts from real-world
data.

In this paper, we will discuss three areas
of major concern for data librarians and
data users wishing to obtain and use data
^^^^■■■■i for secondary analysis; data quahty,

format, and dissemination. We review
and contrast the issues and concerns of data hbrarians and
data users, outlining areas of similarity and difference. We
will explore how one large data collection, the Social
Science Electronic Data Library (SSEDL). compiled over
the last 1 7 years by Sociometrics Corporation, has
addressed each of these issues and the conflicts and
problems that arose during that process. Finally, we peer
into the future, assessing how data providers can bridge
knowledge gaps via recent technological advances.

The Social Science Electronic Data Library (SSEDL)

The Sociometrics Social Science Electronic Data Library is
a premium health and social science resource that consists
of seven topically focused data archives. With over 300
data sets from 200 different studies comprising seven
topically-focused collections, it is a unique source of high
quality health and social science data and documentation
for researchers, educators, students, and pohcy analysts.
The Electronic Data Library was made available in 1999 on
a set of CD-ROMs and includes an online membership with
free access to datasets for downloading by members.

The Collections:

The Data Archive on Adolescent Pregnancy and
Pregnancy Prevention (DAAPPP) was established by the
US Office of Population Affairs (OPA) in 1982 as the
repository for the best social science data on the incidence,
prevalence, antecedents and consequences of teenage
pregnancy and family planning. In 1994. the scope of
DAAPPP was expanded to include studies that focus more
broadly on adolescent sexual health issues, thereby
including studies examining behavioral factors related to
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in addition to
pregnancy. DAAPPP currently holds data from over 130
premiere studies (many of them longitudinal) on sexuality,
health, and adolescence.

State-of-the-art research data on the American familv are

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

available through the American Family Data Archive
(AFDA). AFDA. funded by the National Institute for Child
Health and Human Development, contains data and
documentation from 20 nationally recognized studies on
important issues relating to American family hfe,
demographics, and family patterns. Among the topics
covered are educational, economic, health, social, and
psychological indicators, child welfare, family violence,
marriage, divorce, child care and child custody.

The AIDS/STD Data Archive (AIDS) consists of original
research data and instruments from 1 1 premier studies on
AIDS/HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The collection was estabhshed with funding from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD. Included data sets address the following topics:
the incidence and prevalence of specific sexual behaviors
(including abstinence, vaginal and anal intercourse, oral-
genital sexual activity, masturbation); contraceptive and
STD-preventive behavior; attitudes and behefs regarding
sexual behavior and methods of contraception and STD
prophylaxis; AIDS/HIV knowledge, attitudes, behavior,
and serostatus; current and past episodes of gonorrhea,
syphiUs. chlamydia, and other STDs; and high-risk
behavior, including alcohol/drug use and prostitution.

The Maternal Drug Abuse Archive (MDA) brings
together seven state-of-the-art research databases on
maternal alcohol and drug abuse. Funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, the collection includes data on the
following topics: the prevalence of drug use among
pregnant women and women of childbearing age;
demographic characteristics of pregnant drug users; types
and patterns of illicit drug use; social, psychological and
economic antecedents of pre- and perinatal drug abuse; the
effects of pre- and perinatal substance use on pregnancy
comphcations and neonatal status; and the effects of fetal
alcohol and drug exposure on children's physical,
neurobehavioral. psychological and social development.

The Data Archive of Social Research on Aging (DASRA)
was assembled with the support of a grant from the
National Institute on Aging. DASRA contains data and
documentation from three very large nationally recognized
studies. These three studies covered a variety of topics
including functional status and impairment, living
arrangements, caregiving and social support, health
attitudes, retirement income and plans, mortaUty, health,
financial resources and assets, expenditures, cognitive
abihty. medical conditions, housing, health insurance, and
personal charactenstics

The Research Archive on Disability in the United States

(RADIUS) was funded by the National Center for Medical
Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) within the National
Institute for Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD). The purpose of the project is to facilitate access

to the best data sets on the prevalence, incidence,
correlates, and consequences of disability in the U.S. The
heart of the archive is a collection of 19 studies that address
the topic of disability. These data sets permit analyses on
topics such as: the incidence and prevalence of specific
diseases, disorders, and impairments, including deficits of
cognition, emotion, physiology, and anatomical structure;
functional limitations across a variety of specific organ
systems; disabilities in relation to major hfe roles and
activities, such as work, parenting, education, and
recreation; societal Hmitations including physical,
atfitudinal, and economical barriers that restrict full
participation in society; psychosocial and interpersonal
factors such as coping with stress, sexuality, feelings of
control and productivity, quahty of hfe, and family
relations and support; health care and rehabilitation issues
such as medical costs, coverage, service utilization, use of
orthotic, prosthetic, assistive devices, effectiveness of
rehabihtation; as well as a variety of basic demographic
factors on respondents such as age, race, sex, income,
occupation, marital status, family size, and Uving
arrangements.

To facilitate access to the best contextual data,
Sociometrics has developed a Contextual Data Archive.

By contextual data we mean data that describe the
population, social, and economic characteristics of
geographic areas, from census tracts to states, in which
people reside or work. The contextual data archive consists
of a series of files, each organized around a different
geographic unit of analysis (such as census tracts, school
districts, counties, states, etc). Each file contains variables
drawn from various sources, but having one common
geographic unit of analysis. Support for this project was
provided by the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development.

Data Quality

Both data librarians and data users have an abiding interest
in the availability of high quality digital data. The librarian
must put her/his limited resources to the most efficient and
effecdve use possible. The resources we mean here are not
only financial assets such as approved budgets, but also
material and human capital such as shelf space and the
person-hours of those who must purchase, assemble, and
maintain various data collections. Because all of these
resources are limited and precious, data librarians must
make wise choices as to how to prioritize their use in order
to achieve the highest quahty collection of data for the
users at their institutions.

Data users are also concerned about having data of the
highest possible quality. The users of digital data wish to
make the best possible contribution to the body of
knowledge m their field. That contribution is placed in
jeopardy if the data used is of questionable quality. Data
gathered via poor research design, or via a good design

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

poorly executed are of little use in advancing knowledge.
Researchers using such data risk not only making a tainted
contribution, but also of generating criticism from
colleagues and associates who recognize the problems or
limitations of the data being used.

The research staff at Sociometrics recognized these needs
when compihng the seven data archives in the Social
Science Electronic Data Library. It was determined that
each archive would be a "best of the lot" collection,
accepting only the best data available in each of the seven
topic areas. To accomplish this, we formed National
Advisory Panels of research scientists who were experts in
both the substantive content of the particular archive and
the research methods commonly applied in that field. The
panel, usually consisting of six members, was asked to
evaluate candidate data sets on the following five criteria;

• Technical quality: among the factors to be
considered are high response rates, low attrition
rates, use of reliable and valid measures, and
sound samphng and design elements.

• Substantive importance to the field: factors
include the potential to address contemporary
issues, to break new ground, and to replicate or
confirm important findings.

• Program or policy relevance: the ability of
the data set to answer appHed questions on how to
improve public policy or shape intervention
programs:

• Potential for secondary analysis, including:
Scope of sample - The broader or more dixerse the
scope of the sample, the greater the potential of
the data for generalization. Size of sample -
Sample size is always an important consideration.
This is even more tme for data intended for
secondary analysis: sample sizes adequate to
support the originally intended analysis may be
too small to support other analyses, especially if
the new analyses focus on data cells that have a
very low proportion of cases. Breadth of
variables and constructs covered - The potential
for secondary analysis is directly related to the
breadth of variables measured in the data set. The
more numerous and diverse the set of variables,
the more possibilities there are for new or
expanded analyses.

• Disciplinary balance: An archive should
attempt to be representative of the entire field of
research. Variations in state of the art exist
between different sub-areas within any discipline.
Thus a somewhat flexible standard (as measured
by the other criteria above) should be used to
ensure that all major areas of the discipline are
represented in the archive as a whole.

In order to perform these evaluations, we provided each

panel member with briefing materials consisting of a 2-4
page description of the data source, which covered: the
purpose of the study, methods (including samphng design,
periodicity, unit of analysis, response rates, and attrition);
content (description of variables covered, number of
variables, and topics covered): Umitations; sponsorship;
and a bibliography. In addition, we provided copies of
original peer-reviewed publications for each data set, which
allowed the panel members to review issues we may have
not addressed in our briefing documents. Panel members
were encouraged to suggest additional data sets for
consideration, and have often done so. Panel members did
not vote yes or no on each data set, but rather rated each
with a 'priority score" from 1-10. Only those data sets
receiving an average score of 7 or above were accepted,
and higher priority for archiving was given to those
receiving higher scores.

In addition to pre-screening the data sets, archivists for the
SSEDL data sets perform several other tasks designed to
ensure data quality. We review the data thoroughly,
checking to make sure that all variable and value labels are
included and are sufficiently descriptive. We check the
data for internal consistency and completeness, scanning in
particular for variables with an excessive number of
missing or out-of-range values. We also perform random
checks verifying that the skip logic in the original
instrument was followed and that the variables are
consistent in relation to one another (no variables
describing a female as a father or brother or a male as a
mother or sister, etc). Finally, we produce a user's guide to
the machine-readable files and documentation which notes
any remaining limitations or inconsistencies.

Those archiving digital data face many challenges, not the
least of which are the limitations on their own. as well as
the users" time and resources. Consequently, different data
archivists take a variety of approaches to address these
challenges. Our 'best of the lot" approach emphasizes
quality over quantity. This means that our data collections,
while not as large as some of those from other sources, are
of higher overall quality and are better documented than is
the industry average. This approach hmits the size of our
collections, but contributes to their popularity among
researchers for their high quality and ease of use.

Formats

The needs of data users and librarians diverge somewhat
when it comes to format preferences for digital data
collections. Users look for data in the most easily
accessible form, w hile librarians must be concerned with
the big picture, and look for collections that ser\e the needs
of as many users as possible, both in the present and the
future. The format(s) in which data are provided also ha\e
an impact on the role the librarian will take in the data
distribution process, which could vary from that of a
facilitator to an active gatekeeper. The challenge for data

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

providers is to address both the presenmion needs of the
librarian and the ease of use needs of data users.

Distribution Media. Librarians must conserve their many
precious resources, including both financial resources and
shelf space. However, they also desire that data collections
be in a form that is not easily lost, damaged, or misused by
careless users. Therefore, a data collection should be
durable, and in a format that is not likely to change rapidly
with esolving technology. CD-ROM technology meets
these requirements. CDs are more durable than diskettes
and do not have the associated (at least perceived) transient
quahties of internet sites. Data made available on a CD-
ROM are not Ukely to be easily lost as library staff can.
should they choose to. maintain tight control over them or
copy their contents to a central repositop. for safekeeping.
Diskettes are more likely to become corrupted and internet
sites often are rev ised and require more constant updating
on the part of both the data pro\ ider and the librarian to
keep all links accurate and up to date.

Data users, on the other hand, prefer that the data are made
a\ ailable in the simplest, easiest to access format possible.
However data are made a\ ailable. it must be transferred to
the computer where the user will actually be working.
With desktop computer speed and hard drive space
increasing exponentially, users often prefer that data be
available for copying to their own system, rather than
residing at a central repositon,-. Internet downloads may be
preferred to CD-ROMs as the data can be copied to the
user's own computer, then manipulated and transformed as
necessary.

To best accommodate these di\ergent needs, we found it
necessarv' to make our data sets available in both CD-ROM
format and via our internet web site. SSEDL Volume 1 is
distributed via 17 CD-ROMs, along with accompanying
support material. Additionally, each purchasing institution
is given free web access to all of the data sets, as well as to
new data that have not yet been added to the CD collection.
By allowing the users to download the data sets or use the
CD-ROMs, we were able to provide both the user and the
data hbrarian with flexibility in both data format and data
access.

Analytic Software. A user who wishes to use data on a
particular topic would be best served by data that can be
retrie\ed quickly and effortlessly with a \ ariety of
software. Gi\ en the wide variety of statistical software
available to users in different fields, this can be a challenge.
Users should ha\e the capacity to use the software of their
choice, and the abiUty to access the data quickly with that
software. At the same time, data providers must
understand that software currently popular may change or
become outdated, making files created from these programs
unusable or at the least cumbersome and inefficient to use.

Most data collections have taken one of two approaches to
this problem. First, the data provider may distribute raw
data with a codebook. The raw data is typically stored in
an ascii file which is simply useless text (numbers) without
the codebook. The codebook provides the user w ith the
location of specific variables and cases within the raw data
file. The advantage to this approach is that it addresses the
issue of durability well. Users can access the data by
writing a program using the statistical software package of
their choice, inserting the variable and case locations given
in the codebook to access the data. Changes in software
applications do not affect data distributed in this method, as
users write their own program with the language in which
they have expertise. However, writing the programs to
read the raw data can be a time consuming process, causing
users to waste much of their resources on mundane tasks.
In addition, such writing is prone to error, one misplaced
character can cause much of the data to be written
incorrectly.

Other data providers address these issues by distributing the
data in a pre-packaged format using one of the most
popular statistical software packages (typically SPSS or
SAS). By distributing these formatted files (usually either
complete system files or portable files), the user can access
the data directly simply by opening the files in the
appropriate software. When portable files are used, the
data can be used with different \ersions of the same
software package ( either earlier versus later versions or
versions for different operating systems ) or in some limited
cases, in other popular statistical packages. The advantage
to this method is clear: quick, easy access to data. The
disadvantage is that this approach cannot possibly be
flexible enough to address all user needs. Some users wish
to access the data with a software package that is not
among the most popular. Also, data distributed in this
method can become unusable when softw are packages
radically change their formats. Data made available in the
most recent format could be inaccessible within just a few
years.

To address the Umitations in each of the above approaches,
data sets in SSEDL are distributed with raw data files and
machine-readable set-up statements for use with both SPSS
and SAS statistical software. These set-up statements
provide for the best of both worlds: ease of use. combined
with flexibility. Users use these syntax files to create the
system or portable files in whiche\ er software they are
using. For those users who are use software other than
SPSS or SAS, the set up statements ser\e essentially the
same purpose as the codebook described above. Because
the set-up files are machine-readable, they can often be
converted for use with other software with a minimal
investment of time. Should the syntax requirements of
SPSS or SAS change radically, these files would serve also
accomplish this goal.

(ASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

In addition to the above files, SSEDL data sets also are
distributed with a machine-readable SPSS data dictionary
file and an SPSS frequency and statistics file. These aid
the user in making sure that they have created their system
or portable files correctly. Users can compare the statisdcs
in the frequency file to their own. thereby preventing
mistakes in data analysis. Both the frequency and
dictionary files are also useful in reviewing the contents of
the data set. Each data set is also accompanied by a
printed User's Guide (provided in machine-readable form,
in addition to printed form, for the more recent archives)
comprised of a standard set of sections and subsections.
The provision of standard machine-readable and printed
documentation assists users in familiarizing themselves
with the Sociometrics data sets. Once a user has worked
with one Sociometrics-packaged data set, it is easy for him
or her to work with any of the others. The original
instrument and codebook are offered as optional,
supplementary documentation for each data set. when
available. For the more recent archives, the original
instrument is distributed in machine-readable form along
with the data, as a set of graphics files (page images).

Search and Retrieval Software. As data sets get larger,
both in the number and scope of variables covered and in
the number of cases, users are faced with an increasingly
overwhelming task of reviewing which parts of a study are
necessary and appropriate to their needs. Often, users will
begin work with a data set containing over 5,000 variables
(and often several thousand cases) only to find that their
interests only require 30-40 of those variables. It is
important for users to be able to quickly sort though the
variable list and find those of interest. Given current
(though perhaps temporary) limitations in speed and disk
space, users also need to be able to reduce the large data
set into one with only those variables needed for analysis.

To address this need. Sociometrics staff developed
powerftil .search & retrieval software which now
accompanies each data archive. This software allows a
user to search an entire topically-focused collection, a
customized group of data sets created explicitly for a given
user, or a single data set; to identify variables of interest
across this designated search space and to save located
variables as a search set. Users can conduct: ( 1 ) full-text
keyword searches, including variable names, words in
variable labels (question descriptors), and words in value
labels (response descriptors); (2) searches by assigned
topic and type codes; and (3) searches by study name or
assigned data set number. Standard Boolean operators
(i.e., "and," "or," "not") can be used to combine search
sets. Alongside this software, we provide data extract
software which allows users of CD-ROM versions of
archived data sets to create customized SPSS or SAS
program files containing only those variables of interest to
them. This capability permits analyses of subsets of large
data sets to be conducted quickly (with rapid turn-around)

on most microcomputers. It also saves users significant
program development time writing and re-writing SPSS
and SAS program statements to define variables used in a
given analysis.

Technical Support

The Role of the Data Librarian. The role of the data
librarian in this process varies a great deal among
mstitutions. In some cases, the librarian serves as an expert
gatekeeper to the data, allowing access to users as s/he
deems appropriate and answering a wide range of questions
users may have. Others may serve a minimal role, simply
providing access to the data and support materials and httle
else. Librarians also vary in their level of statistical
knowledge, as well as their expertise in the various topics
that may be covered by the data in their collections.

Our approach to this issue was again to provide the greatest
amount of flexibility in the collection as possible. While
some data librarians do take on something close to a
gatekeeper role, we chose to allow for those who had
neither the time nor the expertise to do so. Librarians need
to be fully informed, not on all of the topics included in
their data collections, but on the process by which they can
aid users in finding data of interest to them. Given the
wide variety of topics covered in SSEDL, one could never
expect librarians to provide users with all of the help they
may require. To this end, the Social Science Electronic
Data Library includes a variety of tools to facihtate this
process. A user's manual and contents manual detail the
data sets included in the collection, and a quick start guide
offers advice on how to implement the software and the
knowledge needed to use the data sets. Most importantly, a
'Guide to the Social Science Electronic Data Librarv' CD
is provided with each collection. This CD takes the
librarian through the process of using the data library using
a brief step by step tutorial.

SSEDL's Research Support Group. In addition to the
support given to the data librarian, users have direct access
to help from Sociometrics' archiving and scientific staff
through our Research Support Group (RSG). The Research
Support Group consists of Ph.D. and Masters level social
scientists who provide free technical assistance for users
who have questions about accessing or using our data sets.
In addition, the RSG occasionally pert'omis consultant
work such as the creation of customized data set extracts;
user-defined statistical tables and analyses; data archiving,
management and analysis services; customized CD-ROMs;
and training workshops. These ser\'ices greatly aid users
with limited expertise or resources with which to conduct
their own analyses.

Dissemination

The manner and methods by which digital data are
disseminated by data pro\ iders and eventually by data
librarians are cmcial to the usabilitv of such data. Users

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

must be made aware of the availability of data that meets
their needs. However, with today's rapidly expanding
technologies, the problem of 'information overload" is a
crucial one. Even within our own collections, users can
become overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information
available to them. If these issues are not handled properly,
they can inhibit the users" abiUty to locate and make use of
the most appropriate data. Data providers must do what
they can to ensure that users have the capability to quickly
and easily locate the data sets and even the particular
variables their topic of interest requires.

While the search and retrieval software made available for
each individual data archive helps users find variables
within a study they have already chosen, it does not help
when users have not yet selected the study that meets their
needs. To address this issue, we created a search
mechanism for use on our internet site which is cross
archive. This allows for users to search by keyword(s). or
designated variable topic or type, for variables of interest in
all of the SSEDL data sets. Users can search for words in
variable labels (question descriptors) or in value labels
(response descriptors). In addition, we include a brief
abstract of each study, and users can search for keywords
within those abstracts. We chose to make this software
available to the general public as well as users on our
internet site, in order to allow researchers at non-
purchasing institutions the opportunity to find data sets of
interest and order them individually.

Data librarians must also make an effort to make help users
become aware of available data collections. In order to
facilitate this process, we provided not only the above
mentioned guide to SSEDL on CD-ROM. we provided
informational flyers and brochures to help the librarian
make potential users aware of the availability of our data
collections. In addition, the Research Support Group
provides both librarians and users ongoing advice as to how
to find data sets of interest in our collections.

Looking to the Future: New Technologies, New
Audiences

The value of any data collection is in part predicated upon
its ability to address issues of the day. Therefore, any
collection will inherently be of greater value the newer the
data are that are contained within it. The preservation of
historic data is clearly important, but any collection that
aspires to be useful must also be kept up to date with the
addition of more recent data. We will continue enlarging
the content and capabilities of our data set collections. We
will be adding to our current data archives as funds permit,
and expanding our efforts by adding new topic areas to the
collection. We expect to begin the establishment of a data
archive on child well-being shortly. A feasibihty study on
the formation os a complementary and alternative medicine
data archive has just been successfully completed.

In putting together the SSEDL. Sociometrics" staff have
learned a great deal about data collection methods and
ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs to researchers.
Currently, we are developing a software product that will
aid researchers on this aspect of the process. Sociometrics"
Automated Dataset Development Software (ADDS) is an
integrated software program that, when completed, will
develop and document social science research studies. The
program will perform the following functions: 1 )
Instrument generation — generate a fully formatted research
instrument in print, ASCII, and other machine-readable
formats. 2) Codebook generation — generate the data set
documentation in a printed codebook (also in ASCII and
other formats), flow chart (skip map), and data file map. 3)
Data entry — provide for data entry from completed
questionnaires, with simultaneous error checking. 4)
Program file generation — produce a raw data file in ASCII
format, and build the program statement files needed to
transform the raw data file into SPSS and/or SAS system
files. The software will automate tasks best done by
computer, improve instrumentation and documentation by
providing a complete. high-quaUty structure and format,
and reduce the post data-collection effort of documenting a
public-use data set.

Additionally, we are also building an item bank of high
quality, commonly used questions, scales, and inter\'iewing
tools from the SSEDL collection. This bank will be
accessible within the ADDS program to permit users to
select questions to develop their own research instruments.
The item bank will be filled with several thousand
questionnaire items drawn from some of the leading studies
in research on the American family. Using questions or
scales that have been previously tested will not only
improve the choice of questions, but will also lead to
greater comparability between studies and over time.

In addition to keeping the Social Science Electronic Data
Library cuiTent and helping researchers imrpove their
methods, we hope to reach new audiences through new
technologically innovative products. Bridging the
"knowledge gap" is of prime importance to those who wish
to make practical contributions through social science
research. Rather than limiting our efforts to trained
researchers, we must reach out to other professionals, and.
when possible, the lay public as well. We are beginning
our efforts to reach the "paraprofessional" audience with
two new products related to the SSEDL. The U.S. Social
Surveys: A Sampler of Questions and Responses, will
contain searchable, edit-ready. and print-ready machine-
readable versions of the demographic, behavioral, and
health science instrumentscequestionnaires. medical forms,
inten iew protocolsoeused to collect the data in SSEDL.
Questionnaire items will be hnked to crosstabulations with
age. race/ethnicity, and gender, obtained from the linked
SSEDL data aichives.

{ASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

Secondly, the Multivariate Interactive Data Analysis
System (MIDAS), will allow online analysis of the data in
SSEDL. OnUne data analytic procedures will include
weighted and unweighted frequencies, percentiles, and
measures of dispersion and central tendency, as well as
two-way and /!-way tables with measures of association,
comparison of means (2-group and ANOVA) and
correlations, and the calculation of complex variance
estimations. Users will be able to define case subsets,
recodes, or aggregations for analysis, and then produce
output which can be downloaded or printed. Custom
dataset downloads will also be available.

The goal of ADDS is to aid expert researchers in handUng
the 'front end" of the research process. Through the use of
the ADDS software, researchers will be able to reduce their
costs and improve the accuracy and efficiency of
instrument development, data collection, input,
management, and analysis. The goal of Social Surveys and
MIDAS is to increase the accessibihty of the data to those
who are not competent in the sophisticated statistical
software packages such as SPSS or SAS. These products
will help the "paraprofessional" --people with college
degrees who are not necessarily trained in complex data
analysis — avail themselves of exemplary social science
data. They will provide a basic introduction to social
science methodologies as well, and will be linked to the
SSEDL data sets for those who wish to progress to the next
stage of data analysis (e.g., advanced undergraduate
students).

In sum, the historic progression of SSEDL has been to
expand the definition and purpose of a data archive.
SSEDL staff have worked to enhance archiving methods to
make data easily accessible to researchers. Our advances in
this field have helped to make the research process more
efficient, especially for those conducting secondary
analysis. ADDS will improve the process for primary
research as well. Non-researchers will be introduced to
data analysis through the new products. Social Surveys and
MIDAS. Together, these products will allow us to extract
the greatest possible value from our research dollars as data
will be used in as many ways as are feasible and by a much
wider audience.

* Michael Carley and Josefina J. Card, Sociometrics
Corporation, Contact Name and Address: Josefina J. Card
Sociometrics Corporation. 170 State St. Suite 260, Los
Altos CA 94022, (650) 949-3282, ext. 211. FAX (650)
949-3299, jjcard@socio.com

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

Accessing Indian Numeric and Statistical

Data: a critical study of the Suprastructure

and Infrastructure in India

Abstract

The use of numeric and statistical data for
macro and micro level decision-making,
development planning, and socio-
economic research has always been
critical for governments, international
organisations and society at large. While
the developments in information and ^^^^^^^IHI

conmiunication technologies (ICTs) have
paved way for timely access to validated numeric data on
the one hand, these have also posed many challenges before
library and information professionals to exploit the
opportunities made available by the ICTs to manage and
disseminate the numeric and statistical data efficiently and
effectively.

In India, numeric data have been pubhshed regularly,
mainly by the Central and State Governments. Numeric
data pubhshed by the government ministries, departments,
and other agencies is largely print-based, basically brought
out in the form of reports, as well as ad-hoc and regular
publications. Although the technology for digital storage
and dissemination of numeric data had been available for a
long time, its importance seems to be reaUzed only
recently by the Government. Although the NICNET (a
national network for dissemination of the government data
and information) has been operational since the 1980s, a
comprehensive National Policy on Dissemination of
Statistical Data (NPDSP) was announced only in May
1999 by the Government of India (Gol). This paper
critically evaluates the provisions of this policy and also
looks at the infrastructure being made available in the form
of NICNET.

Though a few efforts have been made in India (e.g. by the
Reserve Bank of India, and Registrar General Office) to
digitise the existing numeric and statistical data, access to
the digitised data is not adequate and reliable. In fact, the
conduit is available, but the content is far from
satisfactory. There is a strong need for assessing user
needs, enhancing their awareness, and consolidating the
efforts of various ministries, departments and other source
agencies to make the collection, \ alidation, organisation
and dissemination of numeric and statistical data efficient
and effective. A beginning has already been made in this
direction by making the Department of Statistics,
Government of India responsible to serve as a nodal

bv Dr. Jagtar Singh & H. P. S.
Kalra

agency in this regard. An effort has been
in this paper to raise a few issues and put
forward a few suggestions to ameliorate
the situation and also to enhance global
community's awareness regarding the
state-of-the-art in India.

^^^^■^^^H Introduction

The importance of rehable and accurate
numeric and statistical data has been duly recognised by
scientists, social scientists, planners, and decision-makers,
entrepreneurs, and governments. Now-a-days. a lot of time
money and manpower is invested in collecting, analysing,
and disseminating information in quantitative form. As the
number and variety of data sources increase, be it an
academic, industrial or government setting, the process of
providing access to data gets comphcated. The use of
traditional methods of data collection are tedious and
cumbersome. All sorts of clarifications and explanations
regarding the data need to be mentioned to all data source
agencies/indi\ iduals time and again. Dissemination of the
data analysed (in some cases unanalysed also) to all
concerned poses problems for the Ubrary and information
professionals. The problems are compounded with the
increasing demand of users for numeric data customised
according to their needs, or in ready to use formats. Users
from academic organisations, bureaucracy, government,
business, industry, and non-government organisations rely
heavily on numeric and statistical data for their work.
Though the use of computers and storage media on the one
hand has solved the problems of storing and analysing
large quantities of such data, it has given rise to operational
problems on the other.

With the convergence of computer and communication
technologies and the emergence of networks, information
handling processes have undergone a profound change.
Developments in information and communication
technologies (ICTs), particularly in the 1990s have changed
\ ery significantly the way we manage information,
including statistical information, right from its generation
to use. Now It is possible to access numeric and statistical
data via the networks, particularly the Internet. In the
networked environment, access to. validation, security, and
updating of statistical data are some of the challenges
facing the library and information professionals.

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

State-of-the-Art Report

In the context of developments in ICTs at the global level,
the situation in India regarding the availability of and
access to numeric and statistical data is not so
encouraging. Numeric data are collected, analysed,
validated and disseminated by ministries, departments, and
agencies of the central and the state governments. These
data are published as reports, ad-hoc and regular
publications mainly in the printed form (e.g.. Publications
of Central Statistical Organisation, Human Development
Reports for various years produced by the state
governments of Kamataka, and Madhya Pradesh, and the
Statistical Abstract of Punjab published by the Economic
and Statistical Organisation. Punjab).

The Statistics Wing (SW) of the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of
India, (earher the Department of Statistics) is the apex
body for official statistical system in India. Two
organisations under it. namely the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO) and the Central Statistical
Organisation (CSO) are responsible for carrying out socio-
economic surveys, field work for surveys, training,
dissemination and publication, and coordination of
statistical activities. Since government agencies are largely
responsible for collection and dissemination of numeric
data, there is generally a big time lag in the publication of
numeric data. Appropriate technology was available in
India for quite a long time, but has not been used optimally
for quick analysis and timely dissemination of such data.

Other agencies, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
and the Registrar General's Office, are also engaged in
providing financial and census information respectively in
statistical form. Statistical publications by various
government departments and agencies are in the broad
areas of national income, industry, banking and finance,
census, trade, agriculture, labour, and education. In the last
few years however, the Computer Centre of MoSPI has
also been in.strumental in making available some of the
publications of NSSO in magnetic tapes, e.g.. the Annual
Survey of Industries 1995-96, and the Report on Energy
Statistics, 1998-99. As far as the bibliographic control of
publications containing statistical information is
concerned, there is no single source in printed form,
though efforts have been made, e.g., the Statistical System
in India, 1989; the Catalogue of Go\emment of India's
Civil Publications; and the announcements in newspapers
entitled "List of new Arrivals' by the Controller of
Publications, Government of India.

National Policy on Dissemination of Statistical Data

The Government of India (Gol) seems to have realized only
recently the importance of disseminating the numeric
information in digital form. In May 1999, The Government
of India announced a comprehensive National Policy on
Dissemination of Statistical Data (NPDSD) and specific

guidelines for release of data. The provisions of the policy
are reproduced as Annex 1 given at the end of this paper.
The poUcy of the Gol is a welcome step in the direction of
dissemination of numeric data in digital form, but certain
lacunae in the policy are worth discussion. F*rovisions of
NPDSD have been examined critically below.

Under clause (i) of the policy, it is written that the data
would be available to u.sers in the form of hard copies and
magnetic media. As the policy was announced in May
1999, developments in data storage technology at that time
were ahead of magnetic media. Infrastructure for data
storage in optical media (CD-ROMs, DVDs) is also
available with government departments and agencies. A
comprehensive term to include optical media would have
been better. Similarly, provisions for availability of
vaUdated data via networks, particularly the Internet, could
also have been incorporated in the clause.

Clause (V) of the policy will act as a hindrance in quick and
timely release of data. Under this clause, it is said the data
users shall have to wait for three years after the completion
of field work to get the data, in case the reports based on
survey data work can not be released by the concerned
government agencies earlier. Moreover, the access
mechanism for data collection in such a situation has not
been specified. Other clauses in the policy such as clause
(vi) and clause (viii). deal with non-commercial use of
data, and the Department of Statistics (DoS), Gol. acting
as the nodal agency for dissemination of statistical data,
respectively.

Statistics Wing (SW) in the MoSIP (earlier the DoS) has
been entrusted with the responsibility of data collection
from source agencies; the organisation of data and
ensuring its quality; conducting studies regarding data
collection and validation for each type of data source; and
the dissemination of official statistics under clause (viii) of
the policy, and clauses ( i ), ( ii ). ( iii ). and ( i v ) of the
guidelines for release of data. Regarding secondary
publications, e.g.. bibliographies, indexes, and directories
in electronic form, provision has been made in the
guidelines for release of data (clause \iii), but not much
information is available on the web site of SW in MoSPI
(http://www.nic.in/stat)

Though dissemination of statistical data is the focus,
mechanisms have been spelt out only for release of data,
and not for its dissemination. SW can act as disseminator
of statistical information, to one and all only if it has a
network of branch offices. It does not have any such
network, and under the present provisions of the polic\
and guidelines, therefore, either the dissemination activity,
largely print-based, will be centrahsed or will have to rely
on some other government department/agency. Pubhc
libraries offer such a network in almost all the states and
union temtories in the country. Traditionally, public

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

libraries have been playing the role of information
disseminators. Many states in India have working pubUc
Ubrary systems today. Ten out of 28 states have pubhc
library legislation. The policy could have incorporated the
role of public libraries in collaboration with SW for
dissemination of statistical data.

National Statistical Commission

The National Statistical Commission (NSC) was senip by
the Gol in January 2000 to critically examine the
shortcomings and deficiencies of the present statistical
system with a view to recommending measures for a
systematic revamping of the system. NSC has 12 members
under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan. the
Governor, Andhra Pradesh. Terms of reference of NSC
include timeUness, reUability. and adequacy of statistical
system in India; dissemination of these statistics; and the
coordinating mechanism using statistical information for
policy making and planning. Although the commission
was expected to submit its report to the Government within
a period of twelve months from the date of its
estabhshment. it has not submitted the report. (The text
version of the information on the NSC downloaded from
the MoSPI web site is enclosed as Annex 2.)

Infrastructure for Dissemination of Digital Data

The infrastructure for storing and disseminating the data in
digital form was set up in 1977 by the Government of
India under the Department of Electronics. Later, it was
entrusted to the direct control of Planning Commission.
Recently, recognising the growing importance of ICTs. a
separate Ministry of Information Technology (MIT) was
created by the Gol. with NIC and its infrastructure under
the MIT. NIC has a large distributed network
infrastructure, known as NICNET with its nodes in all parts
of the country, including many remote areas. The conduit,
i.e. NICNET, is available, but the availability of and access
to the content, i.e. the statistical data, via NICNET is not
easy. Effort of the NIC to provide statistical, numeric and
other factual information through General Information
Service Terminals of NIC (GISTNIC) is not successful as
these are placed in the district commissioners" offices.
Even the web site of GISTNIC does not provide users with
much information (http://gist.ap.nic.in).

Although the NPDSD has been announced only in 1999,
and the NSC commissioned in 2000. efforts by the
concerned government agencies to provide statistical and
numenc data in the digital form and via networks started
earlier. Examples of these are given below. The economic
and monetary data and information are available via the
Reser\'e Bank of India (RBI) web site (http;//
www.rbi.org.in). RBI is the central bank of India. In
addition to its main web site, it has also created special
URLs for frequently accessed documents, a list of which
appears as Annex 3. The documents available via the RBI

web sites provide textual as well as numerical and
statistical information. The Weekly Statistical Supplement,
available via its web site (http://www.wss.rbi.org.in)
provides economic information in numeric form under
many headings (The text version of a downloaded
document is enclosed as Annex 4.) Census data in the
floppy discs is also available at select institutions, but its
fonnat is not user-friendly for search purposes. Brief
information on census is also available from Registrar
General's Office (RGO) web site (http://
www.censusindia.net).

In spite of the excellent web site maintained by the RGO,
not much data are available via it. Web sites of nearly all
ministries and departments of Gol and their agencies exist
today. A list of these sites has been compiled by Varun. A
cursory look at the URLs of the web sites of various
ministries, departments, and agencies reveals that NIC has
created web sites for many government ministries,
departments, and agencies, but adequate information is not
available via the government web sites, and is not updated
in some cases. In some cases, there is no email address for
contacting the concerned department. Thus it becomes clear
that while, with the help of the eUte NIC the conduit for
information dissemination has become available to data
source agencies, the content (data and relevant
information) available via the conduit is far from
satisfactory.

Looking Towards the Future

Reforms in the telecom sector in India have been very rapid
in the last few years, and with the increasing competition,
prices of computers, telecommunication equipment, and
services have come down heavily. More and more bodies
in India are now using the computers and communication
facilities and services. These are hkely to increase manifold
in the coming years. With such a market scenario, need for
information (including numeric information) available via
the computer and communication facilities, both at
workplace and at home would increase considerably.
Therefore, assessing user needs for statistical and numeric
information and enhancing users" awareness of the existing
resources and services through which they can access such
information is the need of the hour.

The initiatives by the Gol. such as the announcement of
NPDSD in May 1999 and setting up of NSC in January
2000 are in the right direction, but are in reverse order. The
Government should have set up NSC earlier, as one of the
terms of its reference is with regard to collection and
dissemination of timely, reliable and adequate statistics.
While the focus of NPDSD is on centralisation of
statistical information system, one of the terms of
reference of NSC deals with decentraUsation of statistical
information system. In the light of report and
recommendations of NSC (whenever submitted), the

lASSIST Quarterly Fall 2000

NPDSD will have to be amended or a new policy will have
to be announced.

Consolidation of the efforts of various ministries,
departments and other source agencies of the Gol is also
needed to make the collection, vaUdation, organisation and
dissemination of numeric and statistical data efficient and
effective. The SW has been entrusted with the job of
coordination with other government ministries,
departments, and data source agencies, and to act as a
nodal agency for dissemination of statistical data (clause v
of the guidehnes). But nothing concrete has come out even
after one and a half years of the adoption of the poUcy.
Some guidehnes and clauses of the policy act as hindrance
in accessing data. In such a situation, the role of library
and information professionals would be to convince the
government to provide validated quality numeric
information to society at large. The Gol through the SW
can provide quality information by strengthening the
existing infrastmcture of the NIC and ensuring access to
the information by making available the NICNET
terminals available to people via public libraries.

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